I think I'll start with the good. Jimmy Rollins was far and away my team's MVP for the week, as he tallied 17 hits, 3 HR's, 9 Runs and 3 Steals, helping me to win all 4 of those categories. David Wright added a 2 homer, 2 steal week and even more tantalizingly, Travis Hafner seems to be coming around a bit. This is more exciting to me than running into Hillary Duff (and I do mean running into). Hafner homered, knocked in 6 runs and finished the week with a respectable OPS of .819.
Also on the positive side, I started Kevin Correia this week in Washington. He was making just his third start of the season after pitching out of the pen for the first 4 months, but I saw him pitch vs. Atlanta and he looked really good. This decision bucked a trend and went well for me, as he allowed 2 runs over 6 innings for the victory. That's about the only positive stuff I can write about for the week. Oh wait, I didn't die. I got an ear infection, but that can hardly be blamed on fantasy baseball.
The only closer I start is Francisco Cordero. Why? Injuries and a slow trigger on the waiver wire. Regardless, Friday morning, I'm up 2-0 in saves. Friday night, Jacquin Beniot (one of my relievers) comes in to close out a 4 run lead in the ninth. What does he do? He gives up a double and walk. This creates a save chance, and since managers manage games by this statistic more than any other, it was time for Texas closer to come in. Their closer, CJ Wilson is one of my most hated major leaguers. I hold him personally responsible for my losing one of my leagues in the finals last year because it was his errant fastball that prematurely ended Hafner's 2006 season.
More importantly - right now - is the fact that Wilson is on my opponent's team. Now my reliever has created a save chance for his reliever, which puts my in the odd position of having to hope that his reliever can pitch well and keep my reliever's runners from scoring and fucking up my ERA. What happens should be obvious. The first batter homers. That gives my reliever 2 Earned Runs and his reliever only 1. So then I root for Wilson to blow the save, which of course he does not. He immediately settles down and gets the save. Try and imagine a way, short of the computer electrocuting my testicles, for that inning to go worse for me.
Despite this, my pitching was still hanging on into Saturday. That's when Kelvim Escobar toed the rubber at home against the Rangers and their pathetic offense, for which Marlon Byrd has found himself the cleanup hitter. What does Escobar do? 2.2 innings, 6 runs. Brilliant.
By Sunday night, things had gotten messy. I found myself losing. I had gone back ahead in saves, thanks to Cordero. Unfortunately, he had given up 2 hits in that save which put my WHIP and BAA in jeopardy. From this point on, there were two at bats, moments if you will, that could have tipped the scales in either direction. You can guess which direction the scales were tipped.
Moment #1: The Sunday night game was Texas-Anaheim. Sure enough, the AL's second best team found itself trailing by 3 runs in the ninth - just enough for a save chance for my good buddy CJ Wilson. Wilson, however, struggles. By the time he has recorded two outs, two runs have score and the bases are loaded for Garrett Anderson. This is a big spot. At this moment, my WHIP is .002 higher and my BAA is about even. I'm on the wrong side of a 5-6-1 score. However, if Anderson can get a hit things will change. No save for Wilson means I'll keep that save point. The hit would raise his WHIP and BAA just above mine. 5-6-1 would become 7-4-1. Sure enough, Anderson makes a quick, suspenseless out. 4-6-2.
Moment #2: One of my opponent's closers, Todd Jones, is terrible. Late Sunday afternoon, he had blown a save vs. Oakland in which he had allowed 2 runs. The bases were still loaded against Jones with no outs when Mike Piazza, my catcher came to the plate. I ended the week tied in RBI, and while my hitters left an astonishing 7 men on third base with less than 2 outs this week (Matsui - 2, Hafner - 1, Bay - 2, Piazza - 1, Ibanez - 1) none were more painful than this. Piazza not only failed to get that run in, but he hits into a rally killing home to first double play. If he hits a fly ball, I gain a point to 5-6-1. If he gets a hit, then like with Wilson, I would have won WHIP and BAA, making the score 7-4-1. He did not. The next batter did not. And I did not.
In the end, I lost WHIP 1.366 to 1.364 and BAA .2733 to .2732. Painful. Just painful. When I think of all the infield singles and senseless walks to punchless hitters I'd seen during the week, I actually sweat with anger. I probably need an outlet for that. Beating the wife seems like the obvious choice, but I think I can come up with something more constructive. Maybe woodworking, model building or stalking Hillary Duff. Perhaps I should bottle it all up inside until I'm in my mid 40's and it all just explodes out of me onto some unexpected stranger or little league umpire. That's probably the way to go. That or Yoga.
Thankfully, the pain is eased by my big 9-2-1 win last week that all but guaranteed me a spot in the playoffs. Going into week 23, I'm in second place in my division, but only 5 games back of first despite having a .500 record. The logjam of teams behind me is so big that the 7th place team overall is just 6 games behind me and 1 game out 6th (the last playoff spot). Barring a collapse this week, I should be fine. I'm playing the last place team in my division, so a big win might even get me into first place and a first week bye in the playoffs. Might.
Looking Ahead
Did I just say "barring a collapse?" Why would I say that? Am I stupid? Well obviously, yes. Just one example is this very blog I'm writing which I probably read by fewer people than the screenplay for "Daddy Day Camp." I know I shouldn't make fun of Cuba Gooding Jr, but with this, Snow Dogs and Boat Trip, I can only hope that he's laughing. Because nobody else is (okay, fine, I laughed at Boat Trip, but if you can find me another movie showcasing an Oscar winner's ejaculate, I'd love to see it).
As I said, next week I'm playing the last place team in my division. I find this odd because after the draft, I thought he had a really good team. But a poor season from Delgado, a lack of power from Derrek Lee and ill advised trades of Grady Sizemore, CC Sabathia and Lance Berkman - the results of which netted him Renteria and Vernon Wells - have left his team in what very closely resembles shambles. They are both on his bench due to injury and lack of production respectively. Hopefully I can do something here.
I'm starting Bonderman this week. Twice. His last start was encouraging, though it was against KC. Blanton is back on the road and has struggled vs. the Angels in his career. I should do well in ERA, WHIP and BAA if only because he's starting Dontrelle Willis twice, and for some reason still has Joe Kennedy (who I just found out is now on Toronto) in his starting lineup. We both only have 1 closer. Saves will simply be a question of who gets luckier. Usually, I hate that question.
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